Reliance Foundation Empowers Rural Communities Through Its Digital Info Services

Bhubaneshwar: As a part of its rural transformation initiative, Nita M Ambani led Reliance Foundation (RF) runs a programme called Reliance Foundation Information Services (RFIS) in 11 states of India.

This programme helps empowering rural and marginalised communities through the means of expert knowledge and technology.

Since its inception in 2013, the RFIS uses multiple-communication platforms (mobile platforms, cable TV, Radio, multi-location audio and video conferences, print) to address knowledge gaps in rural livelihood issues with the support of multi-stakeholder knowledge partnerships.

The thematic areas cover agriculture, livestock, fisheries, disaster management, government schemes, insurance, employment, health, education, weather and civic services. Livelihood advisories related to these topics have so far reached more than 50 lakh individuals (farmer, fisher folk, livestock farmers, rural youth, women) through various mobile platforms.

The advisories are disseminated through nine regional languages like, Odia, Telugu, Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada and Guajarati.

The 11 states being covered under this programme are Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.

The key principles behind the design of the programme is to give information on poverty eradication, to provide the right information at the right time from the right source for making timely decisions to move up the value chain for higher income generation or knowledge empowerment.

Another principle is to develop a framework for various need based dissemination through technological platforms with the objective of sharing localised content in all languages.

RFIS programme services have already reached 30 districts of Odisha.